QB Rankings Week 13 (updated Saturday)

Welcome to the Week 13 Quarterback Rankings, and Happy Thanksgiving to all you Rotobahners out there! May your holiday be wonderful. May your crazy uncle talk to your brother-in-law all night, and not you. May all your turkeys be juicy–not dry. And, btw, stuffing rules.

A quick word on this week’s rankings. As you’ll see, I was able to get some things done with the QBs, but the the rest of the early rankings will be light on the blurbs. I will fill in that space when I do the updates. It’s a crazy week with the holidays, but I wanted to make sure that you all had some rankings just to help with early lineup decisions.

The quarterback position is obviously deeper with no byes and we also have plenty of good matchups throughout the 32 player mix. The bad news is that a few of the elite options are in nasty matchups. There will be some challenging decisions to make this week for those who are in must-win situations. I’ll continue to refine these ranks when I do the update.

I’ve put some Turkey Slate thoughts into the rankings themselves. If you want more, listen to Jimmy Hackett and myself tomorrow on WEEI. We’re on from 9-12 so we’ll be talking about the holiday slate for a good hour. If you are out of market, check weei.com for the show segments as they come out.

There will be a DFS pod this weekend and I’ll do my best to get it done on Saturday. If you missed my spot on Sigmund Bloom’s couch, check it out below.

This article will be updated on Saturday as always.

WEEK 13 RANKINGS

All pricing was sourced from DraftKings.

For the original rankings, scroll to the bottom. I like to remove players who have already played from the rankings. Getting the dead wood out of my view is the way I prefer it.

QBRK-Wk13-19-V3

Rank	Player	Team	Salary	Matchup	The Skinny
1	Patrick Mahomes	KC	7.400	OAK@KC 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Huge game at home versus a pass funnel defense. He may have some questions with his receivers (Tyreek Hill’s hammy) but it won’t matter. He’s going to crush.
2	Lamar Jackson	BAL	7.000	SF@BAL 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Will the fact that they’ve seen Kyler twice over the last month help them? In fact, over the last four games, they’ve seen Kyler twice and Russell Wilson once. So a great athlete at QB is sort of the norm lately for the 49ers. Now they get LJ, who is on fire. Kyler ran 8 times for 67 yards and a score in his second meeting with SF. I’m thinking the Ravens go to school on that and run Jackson even more. I’m leaning in here.
3	Russell Wilson	SEA	6.600	MIN@SEA 12/02/2019 08:15PM ET	They can’t trust Chris Carson and it’s really hard to run on Minnesota. Wilson is how they win this game and they have enough weapons where it won’t much matter how the Vikings move their DBs around.
4	Aaron Rodgers	GB	6.500	GB@NYG 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Good spot for Rodgers, who thrives against teams that allow him some time. The Giants don’t cover much right now either. This is good action and you can stack Adams now if you want to use him on DK. He’s looking a lot like his old self.
5	Jameis Winston	TB	6.300	TB@JAX 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	No longer a scary matchup and you know the ball is going to be tossed and tossed often. He’s a straight-up volume-based play, because when you throw at Evans and Godwin that much, stats are going to occur.
6	Sam Darnold	NYJ	6.100	NYJ@CIN 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He should light them up. The Jets are not that good but they are light years ahead of the Bengals and Darnold is now hot.
7	Carson Wentz	PHI	5.800	PHI@MIA 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Finally a cake matchup, and he really needs it.
8	Deshaun Watson	HOU	6.300	NE@HOU 12/01/2019 08:20PM ET	Houston needs this game badly and when they need a win badly, Watson tends to be set free more. I’m not fearful of the big bad Patriots, at least not too much. This is not a 1-weapon team. They can hit you a lot of ways with Fuller healthy. Lower expectations, sure, it’s the Patriots, but I’m not at all afraid to play Watson.
9	Kyler Murray	ARI	6.400	LAR@ARI 12/01/2019 04:05PM ET	The Rams just got their faces rearranged by a mobile QB, so it’s hard to doubt a surging well-rested Kyler in this spot. *UPDATE* Kyler must have suffered a hamstring during the late part of the week. He’s now questionable with a hamstring, and that’s more of an issue in that he’s a running QB. I’ve moved him down, but if they start him, it’s likely nothing major, because they have little to play for at this stage. He’s a decent seasonal play if he starts.
10	Kirk Cousins	MIN	6.400	MIN@SEA 12/02/2019 08:15PM ET	They should be able to play 2-handed here with a mix of pass and a heavy ground attack. I’ll upgrade him some if Adam Thielen is ready to go.
11	Tom Brady	NE	6.100	NE@HOU 12/01/2019 08:20PM ET	Pretty good matchup but does he have enough weapons?
12	Daniel Jones	NYG	5.600	GB@NYG 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Plenty of potential here so use him if you need him, but I’d rather wait for his super tasty matchups.
13	Nick Foles	JAX	5.700	TB@JAX 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Hello, Bucs. Foles could get well here because you throw to beat the Bucs.
14	Jared Goff	LAR	6.000	LAR@ARI 12/01/2019 04:05PM ET	Good matchup so he’s viable but you have to wonder if this offense is a bit shaken. Just not clicking at the moment.
15	Ryan Tannehill	TEN	5.700	TEN@IND 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He’s playing so well and the matchup is winnable. It’s the game flow that scares me. Both teams are content to keep it close and shorten the game plus it’s a divisional game and a second meeting, which are often low scoring. The Colts won 19-17 at Tennessee in the first meeting. One point of interest here is Derrick Henry and his hamstring. He was listed as limited so there’s plenty of hope for him playing but if he sits, they go to Dion Lewis, who tilts a bit more to the pass game and I think Tannehill would throw a lot more in that scenario.
16	Baker Mayfield	CLE	6.200	CLE@PIT 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Very tough matchup and he’s been matchup-sensitive—probably due to his awful offensive line and some less than stellar play. Still, I’m not looking to use him here unless I need him.
17	Jimmy Garoppolo	SF	5.600	SF@BAL 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Tough sell here because they are going to want to run as much as ever in this matchup. And, if we’re counting on him getting volume while trailing, it will be less efficient volume—with the Ravens knowing what’s coming.
18	Philip Rivers	LAC	5.500	LAC@DEN 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Tough road matchup so use with some caution.
19	Andy Dalton	CIN	4.700	NYJ@CIN 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He’s baaaack. Dalton could have some success here but what he needs are his weapons back. When Ross and AJG return, he’ll be interesting.
20	Kyle Allen	CAR	5.500	WAS@CAR 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Very playable but obviously tough to trust.
21	Jacoby Brissett	IND	5.900	TEN@IND 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Lots of slow down potential in this game so I’m not looking to use Brissett.
22	Derek Carr	OAK	5.500	OAK@KC 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	This is a tough matchup and I’d rather go elsewhere in a must-win game. You run to beat the Chiefs, and I expect Gruden to go that way.
23	Ryan Fitzpatrick	MIA	5.400	PHI@MIA 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	The problem here is that Fitz’s line can’t deal with the Eagles front seven. This is going to keep him from attacking their DBs on positive terms. The picks could be flying here. A Josh Rosen sighting is possible.
24	Devlin Hodges	PIT	5.100	CLE@PIT 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Hey, he’s not Mason Rudolph. That alone is good and Hodges was functional enough to give us some renewed hope with the Steelers skill players.
25	Dwayne Haskins Jr.	WAS	4.600	WAS@CAR 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Way too many good options out there to consider Haskins, but he’s getting better.
26	Brandon Allen	DEN	4.200	LAC@DEN 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Tough matchup and loads of solid plays this week. Avoid Allen.
27	Drew Lock	DEN	4.800	LAC@DEN 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	If Lock starts over Allen, which seems like at least a fifty/fifty proposition, I’m firing up the Chargers defense. I like Lock as a potential fantasy asset someday, but as Aragorn said, “not this day.”
28	Josh Allen	BUF	6.200	BUF@DAL 11/28/2019 04:30PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) Allen is a solid play but for sure he is one of the bets options on the Thanksgiving slate. He’s less than Brees AND mega douche Matt Ryan. Sorry, I’m still nursing my Week 12 wounds. Allen brings slate-breaking upside. There is no doubt whatsoever that I will have at least one lineup with Allen at QB. In seasonal he’s also a solid play as a QB1. Stacking with Smokey Brown and Cole Beasley makes sense and it’s affordable—leaving you with plenty of room for high volume studs from the other games.
29	Dak Prescott	DAL	5.700	BUF@DAL 11/28/2019 04:30PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) Dak is really an eye of the beholder play this week. I sort of like him but the slate is strong at QB, so not sure if I’ll have more than a single lineup. The key for Dak this week is running. He needs to run and Zeke needs to run. The Bills drop a lot of defenders and you must make them pay a price on the ground. If Dallas plays this smart, Dak runs for fifty yards in the game and gets red zone runs as well. A Dak/Zeke stack is not a terrible idea.
30	Mitchell Trubisky	CHI	5.300	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) I hate to admit this, but I’m probably going to have some Trubisky lineups this week in the Wishbone Classic on DK. It’s risky for sure, but he’s easier than ever to stack this week, so you can grab a nice cheap piece like Anthony Miller or Tarik Cohen and hope that Slay slows down A-Rob enough. You could also just stack A-Rob, but I’m leaning the other way CB Rashaan Melvin out. The Lions will also be missing Trey Flowers, which hurts the pass rush.
31	David Blough	DET	4.200	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) He is now the starter with Driskel backing up. I’ve seen very little film on Blough so I really can’t say how bad this will be. He’s risky to put it mildly.
32	Jeff Driskel	DET	5.500	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) If he cannot play (hamstring), some guy named David Blough will start. Let the jokes commence! I’m not touching Driskel in this spot—even though I’ve always been a bit of a fan. Not healthy against the Bears is not a good thing for a guy who needs his mobility.
33	Drew Brees	NO	6.800	NO@ATL 11/28/2019 08:20PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) He’s a pretty good floor play and you always get ceiling potential but this is a matchup that will occasionally produce a dud, as we saw in their first meeting back in Week 10. Point being, I’d avoid too much Brees exposure. That said, I’ll be putting in a Brees/MT/AK stack without question and maybe some more depending on how many lineups I make.
34	Matt Ryan	ATL	6.400	NO@ATL 11/28/2019 08:20PM ET	(ALREADY PLAYED) Can’t stand playing this guy as I said last week. I then went on to torture myself using him in cash. That may have been me on TILT. Not sure. This week, Ryan has a tougher task and he’ll still be without Hooper which hurts a bit extra in the post-Sanu landscape. Freeman is likely to miss another game as well.
Rank	Player	Team	Salary	Matchup	The Skinny

QBRK-Wk13-19-V2

Rank	Player	Team	Salary	Matchup	The Skinny
1	Patrick Mahomes	KC	7.400	OAK@KC 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Huge game at home versus a pass funnel defense. He may have some questions with his receivers (Tyreek Hill’s hammy) but it won’t matter. He’s going to crush.
2	Lamar Jackson	BAL	7.000	SF@BAL 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Will the fact that they’ve seen Kyler twice over the last month help them? In fact, over the last four games, they’ve seen Kyler twice and Russell Wilson once. So a great athlete at QB is sort of the norm lately for the 49ers. Now they get LJ, who is on fire. Kyler ran 8 times for 67 yards and a score in his second meeting with SF. I’m thinking the Ravens go to school on that and run Jackson even more. I’m leaning in here.
3	Russell Wilson	SEA	6.600	MIN@SEA 12/02/2019 08:15PM ET	They can’t trust Chris Carson and it’s really hard to run on Minnesota. Wilson is how they win this game and they have enough weapons where it won’t much matter how the Vikings move their DBs around.
4	Drew Brees	NO	6.800	NO@ATL 11/28/2019 08:20PM ET	He’s a pretty good floor play and you always get ceiling potential but this is a matchup that will occasionally produce a dud, as we saw in their first meeting back in Week 10. Point being, I’d avoid too much Brees exposure. That said, I’ll be putting in a Brees/MT/AK stack without question and maybe some more depending on how many lineups I make.
5	Aaron Rodgers	GB	6.500	GB@NYG 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Good spot for Rodgers, who thrives against teams that allow him some time. The Giants don’t cover much right now either. This is good action and you can stack Adams now if you want to use him on DK. He’s looking a lot like his old self.
6	Kyler Murray	ARI	6.400	LAR@ARI 12/01/2019 04:05PM ET	The Rams just got their faces rearranged by a mobile QB, so it’s hard to doubt a surging well-rested Kyler in this spot.
7	Josh Allen	BUF	6.200	BUF@DAL 11/28/2019 04:30PM ET	Allen is a solid play but for sure he is one of the bets options on the Thanksgiving slate. He’s less than Brees AND mega douche Matt Ryan. Sorry, I’m still nursing my Week 12 wounds. Allen brings slate-breaking upside. There is no doubt whatsoever that I will have at least one lineup with Allen at QB. In seasonal he’s also a solid play as a QB1. Stacking with Smokey Brown and Cole Beasley makes sense and it’s affordable—leaving you with plenty of room for high volume studs from the other games.
8	Jameis Winston	TB	6.300	TB@JAX 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	No longer a scary matchup and you know the ball is going to be tossed and tossed often. He’s a straight-up volume-based play, because when you throw at Evans and Godwin that much, stats are going to occur.
9	Dak Prescott	DAL	5.700	BUF@DAL 11/28/2019 04:30PM ET	Dak is really an eye of the beholder play this week. I sort of like him but the slate is strong at QB, so not sure if I’ll have more than a single lineup. The key for Dak this week is running. He needs to run and Zeke needs to run. The Bills drop a lot of defenders and you must make them pay a price on the ground. If Dallas plays this smart, Dak runs for fifty yards in the game and gets red zone runs as well. A Dak/Zeke stack is not a terrible idea.
10	Sam Darnold	NYJ	6.100	NYJ@CIN 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He should light them up. The Jets are not that good but they are light years ahead of the Bengals and Darnold is now hot.
11	Carson Wentz	PHI	5.800	PHI@MIA 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Finally a cake matchup, and he really needs it.
12	Deshaun Watson	HOU	6.300	NE@HOU 12/01/2019 08:20PM ET	Houston needs this game badly and when they need a win badly, Watson tends to be set free more. I’m not fearful of the big bad Patriots, at least not too much. This is not a 1-weapon team. They can hit you a lot of ways with Fuller healthy. Lower expectations, sure, it’s the Patriots, but I’m not at all afraid to play Watson.
13	Kirk Cousins	MIN	6.400	MIN@SEA 12/02/2019 08:15PM ET	They should be able to play 2-handed here with a mix of pass and a heavy ground attack. I’ll upgrade him some if Adam Thielen is ready to go.
14	Tom Brady	NE	6.100	NE@HOU 12/01/2019 08:20PM ET	Pretty good matchup but does he have enough weapons?
15	Matt Ryan	ATL	6.400	NO@ATL 11/28/2019 08:20PM ET	Can’t stand playing this guy as I said last week. I then went on to torture myself using him in cash. That may have been me on TILT. Not sure. This week, Ryan has a tougher task and he’ll still be without Hooper which hurts a bit extra in the post-Sanu landscape. Freeman is likely to miss another game as well.
16	Daniel Jones	NYG	5.600	GB@NYG 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Plenty of potential here so use him if you need him, but I’d rather wait for his super tasty matchups.
17	Nick Foles	JAX	5.700	TB@JAX 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Hello, Bucs. Foles could get well here because you throw to beat the Bucs.
18	Ryan Tannehill	TEN	5.700	TEN@IND 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He’s playing so well and the matchup is winnable. It’s the game flow that scares me. Both teams are content to keep it close and shorten the game plus it’s a divisional game and a second meeting, which are often low scoring. The Colts won 19-17 at Tennessee in the first meeting. One point of interest here is Derrick Henry and his hamstring. He was listed as limited so there’s plenty of hope for him playing but if he sits, they go to Dion Lewis, who tilts a bit more to the pass game and I think Tannehill would throw a lot more in that scenario.
19	Jared Goff	LAR	6.000	LAR@ARI 12/01/2019 04:05PM ET	Good matchup so he’s viable but you have to wonder if this offense is a bit shaken. Just not clicking at the moment.
20	Baker Mayfield	CLE	6.200	CLE@PIT 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Very tough matchup and he’s been matchup-sensitive—probably due to his awful offensive line and some less than stellar play. Still, I’m not looking to use him here unless I need him.
21	Mitchell Trubisky	CHI	5.300	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	I hate to admit this, but I’m probably going to have some Trubisky lineups this week in the Wishbone Classic on DK. It’s risky for sure, but he’s easier than ever to stack this week, so you can grab a nice cheap piece like Anthony Miller or Tarik Cohen and hope that Slay slows down A-Rob enough. You could also just stack A-Rob, but I’m leaning the other way CB Rashaan Melvin out. The Lions will also be missing Trey Flowers, which hurts the pass rush.
22	Jimmy Garoppolo	SF	5.600	SF@BAL 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Tough sell here because they are going to want to run as much as ever in this matchup. And, if we’re counting on him getting volume while trailing, it will be less efficient volume—with the Ravens knowing what’s coming.
23	Jacoby Brissett	IND	5.900	TEN@IND 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Lots of slow down potential in this game so I’m not looking to use Brissett.
24	Philip Rivers	LAC	5.500	LAC@DEN 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Tough road matchup so use with some caution.
25	Andy Dalton	CIN	4.700	NYJ@CIN 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	He’s baaaack. Dalton could have some success here but what he needs are his weapons back. When Ross and AJG return, he’ll be interesting.
26	Kyle Allen	CAR	5.500	WAS@CAR 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Very playable but obviously tough to trust.
27	Derek Carr	OAK	5.500	OAK@KC 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	This is a tough matchup and I’d rather go elsewhere in a must-win game. You run to beat the Chiefs, and I expect Gruden to go that way.
28	Ryan Fitzpatrick	MIA	5.400	PHI@MIA 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	The problem here is that Fitz’s line can’t deal with the Eagles front seven. This is going to keep him from attacking their DBs on positive terms. The picks could be flying here. A Josh Rosen sighting is possible.
29	Devlin Hodges	PIT	5.100	CLE@PIT 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Hey, he’s not Mason Rudolph. That alone is good and Hodges was functional enough to give us some renewed hope with the Steelers skill players.
30	Dwayne Haskins Jr.	WAS	4.600	WAS@CAR 12/01/2019 01:00PM ET	Way too many good options out there to consider Haskins, but he’s getting better.
31	Brandon Allen	DEN	4.200	LAC@DEN 12/01/2019 04:25PM ET	Tough matchup and loads of solid plays this week. Avoid Allen.
32	David Blough	DET	4.200	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	He is now the starter with Driskel backing up. I’ve seen very little film on Blough so I really can’t say how bad this will be. He’s risky to put it mildly.
33	Jeff Driskel	DET	5.500	CHI@DET 11/28/2019 12:30PM ET	If he cannot play (hamstring), some guy named David Blough will start. Let the jokes commence! I’m not touching Driskel in this spot—even though I’ve always been a bit of a fan. Not healthy against the Bears is not a good thing for a guy who needs his mobility.
Rank	Player	Team	Salary	Matchup	The Skinny